Smile, Lady, Smile
by JuneGilbertVivianRaeven
Summary: First Sai fic, please R&R. Mai is new to Konohagakure, still waiting to prove herself to the other shinobi and kunoichi. She feels alone in her struggle, especially when she has to conceal her heritage from everyone she meets. However, Mai is determined to win Konoha's faith. A certain socially challenged ANBU member is assigned to watch her. How will this work out? SaiXOC
1. Chapter 1

Smile, Lady, Smile

By: June Gilbert

Sai X Mai

Chapter One

I sighed softly, curling up in the apartment's narrow bed. I was very lucky Lady Tsunade didn't hold the sins of the father against his daughter. Even as I had been given this tiny apartment, it was far better than some places I had slept in my life. Snuggling into the worn, but warm blankets, I tried to make my mind shut up. However, running around like a rat in a maze, my brain kept mulling over what I could have done instead of apply to the Leaf to be taken in.

_I could have worked a whore house, I could have been a beggar, I could have been a mercenary. . . Okay, I don't have the temperament for either whoredom or being a beggar. . . Too prideful, I guess. And something tells me I would be a crappy mercenary… I don't work well when I'm always expecting to be double-crossed. Too much stress. _Yawning irritably, I sat up anyway and leaned under my bed. Fishing out the rucksack I had brought with me to Konoha last month, I ferreted out my silver-backed hairbrush. It was tarnished from age and the bristles were kind of sparse, but I loved the thing as it was the one remnant of my fatherI still had in my life.

My mother had passed it down to me when she died. I smiled fondly, running my fingers over the familiar etchings of a dragon in flight. Mother had told me Father had gotten it for her as his last gift to her. After that, he had never come back. He was a shinobi, and an outlaw at that, so his death wasn't really a surprise. Mother had not expected my arrival, but had loved me up until her demise.

And, I assumed that she still loved me, wherever her spirit was. I smiled as I took my hair down from its night braid, un-plaiting the long black strands till they fell about my face like a veil. Huffing a little, I took charge by stroking the brush through my hair, brushing the front part away from my face so I could see the grey wall of my apartment's bedroom. Or, rather, the full length mirror that was facing me.

Mirrored in it was a pale skinned teenager, with a long, heart-shaped face and slender pale limbs sticking out from a girlish, slightly frilly nightgown. Mom had gotten t for me in an attempt for me to be more "feminine". Dull black eyes stared back at me from the mirror, the too deep tear channels I had inherited from my father making my face have a permanently mournful look. I sighed.

This was why I hadn't gotten a date, besides the fact that I was still a newbie to the shinobi of Konohagakure and had yet to be given a mission to prove myself on. Besides, if any of them saw me in action, they would know exactly who I am and likely exactly who my father was. I smiled faintly as I braided my hair again, this time in a different pattern and pulling it tighter. Maybe I would be able to sleep without it falling loose half the time. I sighed softly, standing up. Padding toward the window absently, I wanted to sit on the sill and look out, but the sill was too small for even my bony hips. _Drat. _Instead, I settled for sitting cross legged against the wall, throwing open the window and resting my arms on the sill. After disabling the traps, of course. With a sigh, I realized it wasn't much of a view. Just the other apartment building squished up against mine with a narrow, dirty alley in between them.

Sighing softly, I slid out the window and grabbed the edge of the tin roof. Since I was wearing my shinobi gloves, the tin roof merely felt warm under my fingers as I swung my pale, slender body up and onto the roof. _Ahhh…. Now I can breathe out here…. Not cramped anymore like that stuffy old apartment… _

I let the wind blow back my braid as I gazed contentedly up at the round, full moon. _What a night this would be to paint… No! I barely have enough for the necessities with what missions Lady Tsunade assigns me… I don't have enough for art supplies… Heck, I can barely finance my weaponry and my rent…_ I sighed sadly. It was just like me to be a downer even when nobody else was around. I needed friends. Friends I could get this sort of talking over with, and possibly help me NOT talk to myself like this… Ugh… I huffed a little bit and gazed up at the moon. I wanted to sleep, but apparently my body wasn't ready for sleep. I lay back on the warm tin roof, savoring the moonlight and the warmth of a summer night in Konohagakure. I probably would have drifted to sleep if it hadn't been for my ears detecting a slight tap-tap on the rooftop near mine.

I shot up, my hand flying automatically to my hip where, even at night, a kunai normally rested under my ordinary ratty sweatpants. Then I remembered I was wearing the stupid dress nightgown…

I growled, sliding into a ready stance with only my fists as I tried to locate the source of the footsteps. It was hard when whichever idiot that made them had realized his mistake and was now keeping either quite silent or very, very still. My heart pounding, I waited to see if it was an attack. I had been occasionally bothered by other missing ninja, but never yet had the managed to get past Konoha's gates. Lady Tsunade was very, very thorough in stamping out such scumbags. I growled as my eyes flicked around the roof area. There was an overhang where someone could hide right in front of me, a dormer window in the next building providing a convenient spot if you were either short or compact enough to use it. Padding carefully in my bare feet, wincing a little at the warmth on my feet (this place got VERY hot in summer), I peered over the metal window peak.

Blocking a rapid punch upward, I leapt back to reveal a boy with skin as pale as my own, in a high collared midriff black shirt with red straps on the shoulders and standard black shinobi pants. He wore a standard Konohagakure forehead protector, and the symbol was fine so I knew he wasn't a missing ninja. I growled. _Is Lady Tsunade really keeping a watch on me?! How frustrating… Here I am trying to prove myself and she doesn't trust me in the slightest…._ While I was fuming, the boy was staring at me with an expression of what could only be called curiosity. I huffed angrily, my fists clenching when I saw his relaxed posture and confused expression.

"What are you doing here?" It came out gruffer than I intended, but I was on edge. _Stop staring at me, whoever you are! Those eyes are weird… Well, they're black like mine, but still… It's creepy being stared at…. Especially by a guy who could be a stalker. Or a ninja sent to monitor me. Which would be BEYOND embarrassing and extremely annoying…_

"None of your business. How did you hear me?"

I scowled. _The nerve of this guy! Saying I had no business knowing why he was on the roof of my apartment building and then expecting me to answer his questions… Well, I obviously can't hit him if he's really Konoha's ninja. That would look really bad, especially since I'm still such a newbie around here. _I huffed, relaxing my stance. He wouldn't hit me if he hadn't hit me by now. Glaring belligerently at Mr. Weird, as I decided to call him until he told me a name, I remained with my fists clenched.

Just in case.

"I have very sharp ears, and you were pretty loud. At least tell me a name," I said, trying to relax my automatically snappy tone.

"Sai," Mr. Weird said, with an extremely faked smile. I frowned silently. If someone could fake a smile like that, they would usually be either very good at lying or very bad at it. In Sai's case, I decided it was the latter, even though the façade he put up was embarrassingly see-through for a shinobi.

"Sai. Really. Well, you probably know my name, but I'll introduce myself anyway. My name is Mai."

"What's your family name?"

"I don't use one. You don't use one either, so I don't see why you're fussing…"

"I wasn't fussing, merely asking a question."

"Whatever."

He looked curious, "What does that mean?"

I blinked bemusedly. Either he had never heard the phrase or he was just bluntly inept at conversation. Or both.

"Whatever means that I don't care."

Sai scribbled in a small black notebook for a few moments. _Okay, this is utterly bizarre. One moment I'm relaxing on my roof and the next I'm having a conversation and giving pointers to a ninja who might have been sent to kill me. How wackier can my night get? _I thought, sighing softly as Sai looked up at me again.

"Why do you say whatever?"

"I thought I told you that! Whatever means I don't care. I just want to go back in my house and sleep without a ninja trying to kill me. Have you been sent to kill me?"

"No. Merely watch."

"Good. I'm going back to my room to sleep."

I smiled faintly when I realized I had coaxed out of him the very information I had asked about earlier. I was, admittedly, sleepy, but I knew I couldn't sleep with the knowledge someone was watching my every move. With a sigh, I turned to slip back through my window. I would have to try my best to sleep anyway, dammit, because I was NOT going to be late for work tomorrow. I still had to prove myself to these Konoha ninja that I was NOT going to betray them. At least, I didn't plan to in the foreseeable future. I needed a home, and Konohagakure was, at the moment, the only place I could go. I smiled bitterly as I lowered myself down. I also had incredibly deep roots here. Unbelievable that I could still consider myself tied to the village I barely knew, but I had a vague but strong feeling I would be staying.

That is, if some idiot doesn't go messing it up for me and reporting me to his Lady. Then again, if Sai were smart, he wouldn't. Because, I assumed, he hadn't been ordered to interact with me. That would look bad on him more than it did on me. I just heard a noise and came up to investigate. So if he didn't want his Lady to know that he'd screwed up, Sai wouldn't tell of our brief meeting.

I slid into the window, shutting it firmly and coaxing the arthritic lock into place. I didn't want a certain confusing ninja to get in. I re-activated the trap I used for my window, a net of slender ninja wire and shuriken in strategic places so the victim wouldn't spot the net until it was too late. Sighing, I actually felt my lids grow heavy as I started toward the bed. Blinking, I crawled onto the sheets and curled up on top of them. The night was too warm for getting under the covers. Blissfully, moments later I fell easily into Morpheus' arms.

* * *

**Sai's POV**

Mai was an interesting assignment. I hadn't meant to stumble, but now I was secretly glad that I had. She probably had no idea that the nightgown she was wearing was quite translucent to my keener vision. Naruto would be having a fit if he saw it, but I saw nothing tempting under the nightgown. She had barely average breasts, pasty skin and her hips were as angular and bony as the rest of her, about as un-tempting as a woman could get. The one good thing about her was her hair. Long and lush, it was a little frizzy from her climb onto the roof and yet still gleamed with the colors of a raven's wing. She was also my height, and it was estimated that she was about my age. I shook my head. Now was not the time to be wondering over her physical attributes. Now was the time for making sure she didn't exit her dwelling at any point in the night.

I needed to focus. For the first time, my mind was being obstinate and refused to focus on what I wanted it to.

In the end, I compromised and peeked in on her window. She lay on the bed, sprawled across it in a most embarrassing manner. Her chest rose and fell evenly, and only now did I see the scars present in the v her breasts made in the slipping nightgown. My cheeks heated with an unfamiliar feeling. I couldn't take my eyes away from that scar resting on her breasts. I wondered how in the world anyone could violate a woman like this like that.

Shaking my head, I returned to my post. _You are not supposed to entertain such thoughts of those you are supposed to be watching Sai! _

_Then again have I ever watched such a girl?_

* * *

**What do you think of my first Sai fic? I don't know how I did on Sai's viewpoint... What do you think of her? Anyone guess her father? Is anyone interested in this fic? If so, please please review! Thank you!**

**-June**


	2. Chapter 2

Smile, Lady Uchiha, Smile

By: June Gilbert

Sai X Mai

Chapter Two

I smiled as I headed to the market. I had just finished my first C rank mission, and I knew I had to finish my frugal shopping even as I wanted to drop with exhaustion. I entered the grocery store, ignoring the odd glances I got for my beat-up attire. I sighed, smiling at Natsuki, the owner of the grocery store I usually visited. Natsuki gave me discounts more often because she sympathized. She hadn't been a native of Konoha either, so she knew how being new here felt. The brown haired woman smiled when she saw me, then a concerned frown creased her weathered face.

"Hey Mai-chan. Why do you look like something the cat's dragged in?"

"Just got back from a mission. I need to finish shopping."

She made understanding noises and chivvied me on my way. Fiddling with my forehead protector, which I had only just cleaned off after the mission, I gave her a friendly smile. I then headed on, tired and beat up but knowing I'd have to finish the shopping at some point.

I preferred to do it when I was still on a battle-high and numb to my injuries-small as most of them were, they were going to hurt like fuck in the morning. I plucked down from the shelves several ramen packs, a few cans of soup and chili, and lastly, a two liter bottle of my favorite soda. I figured while I was resting for the next mission I might as well have something good to eat and drink. Luckily, everything on my list was cheap.

_Crud. _I could feel that battle-induced numbness quickly fading, leaving me with sharp pains shooting up my right leg. Hurriedly- without noticing a particular dark haired figure at the end of the aisle- I headed to the checkout. Hissing softly when the hurrying made the pains worse, I slowed down to a hobble. Managing to get to Natsuki's checkout, I carefully masked my emotions and my pain, tilting my forehead protector so the sweaty cloth disguised the tell-tale forehead wrinkles that happened when I felt pain.

I didn't want to worry the woman who had endured taunting from some- those few who could guess who my father was, who kindly didn't spread the rumors further than their clansmen- by just allowing my feet to cross her store's entrance.

Exiting successfully, I felt a wave of bone-shaking weariness wash over me. Holding the bags, I saw my vision waver before me but I refused to give up the fight to stay conscious. I may have been weaving a bit in my walk, but I was beyond caring now.

I made it ten feet before I crashed down in a heap.

Or, at least, I would have been flopped in the road.

A strong arm caught me up into a pair of powerful arms. Abruptly, I was looking into the eyes of a behemoth. Feeling very befuddled, I tried to identify this green spandex clad creature with the thick eyebrows and good natured smile. He just briskly started walking, carrying me and my scanty groceries as if they were nothing. Turning my head away a bit to clear my throat, I turned back and spoke up, "Wh-who are you?" _Damn. I hate it when I stammer like that._

"Maito Guy at your service, Mai-san. I couldn't help but notice you're youthfulness had been waning a bit, so I decided-"

I interrupted, "Look, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but just put me down-nngh~!" The reason I had trailed off was that a sharp pain had shot up that same damn leg. My hands instinctively flew to the abused area. Guy frowned slightly, a worried expression in his eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

I sighed, slightly frustrated by the fact that I was still off the ground in his arms, "Just put me down, you big lug."  
He obediently put me down, but I buckled almost immediately under the combined weight of my own body and the groceries. He was quickly there again, helping me stand. Guy was looking oddly concerned for a man I had only seen before from afar.

"At least let me help you get home, Mai-san."

I reluctantly nodded. No way would I make it home without help on this bum leg. But if he insisted on me going to the hospital... No. Big no-no. I hated hospitals, which was why I hadn't put my fool self in one sooner when I felt the sprain in my leg. It had probably gotten bigger, resulting in the pain that was shooting through me right now. I felt near to passing out.

Suddenly, sharply, I felt something round and hard sting the tip of my chin. Abruptly, I blacked out.

* * *

**One Day later...**

When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed. I panicked immediately, jerking about until the pain in my leg made me quit. I sat up too quickly, and winced at the pull of the IV on my arm. I fidgeted until it was comfortable again, and I looked about my room. The room was white walled, with pristine hospital linoleum on the floors. _It'd be really bad to slip on that floor... _I sighed, curling in on myself. I didn't want to be here. Not in a hospital. I tried to pull my knees together, and winced when my leg protested the motion. I quit trying quickly.

I wanted to huddle into my blanket, but that was impossible with the way my leg had been immobilized. The nurses had been too damn efficient. I laid back down with a weary huff, staring at the ceiling. Popcorn white paint was a bit boring, but it was better than dwelling on my own stupidity. I sighed softly. As I got a whiff of the hospital for real, I jerked painfully at the memories it evoked. I shivered silently, trying to repress the memories as they flooded back, making my heartrate go haywire.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_I clutched my mother's hand. She was so pale, so wan. So drained of her usual vitality. The disease was killing her. It wasted her from __the inside out, took her curves, took her hair... Her beautiful, blonde hair so unlike my own... In fact, I looked nothing like her. Not even now, when she was struggling to breathe. Her eyes, her tired blue eyes opened slowly._

"_Mai?"_

_Her voice was a soft__ croak. Her chapped lips could barely form the words. The hospital we had visited earlier this month had denied us entrance, all because they said nothing could be done. They said Mom was too far gone for them to help. I still remembered the harsh scents o__f antiseptic and starched cleanliness. And the __icy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I shuddered, remembered ice sliding down my spine in a gush. I clenched Mom's hand in reply._

"_Ah, Mai... I'm so sorry I'm such a burden to you..."_

"_You're not a burden! I love you," I cried anguishedly, clenching tighter around her bony hand until she winced. Instantly ashamed, I loosened my grip with considerable control. Mother had taught me the arts of ninjutsu, before she got sick. She had been a ninja, a good one. Mom was a kunoichi for hire, and had taken jobs until the disease grew too painful for her to bear taking life threatening jobs any longer. I had then taken over her jobs- some a bit clumsily, and others I managed to do almost as well as Mother would have done. I made a point not to accept assasinations unless that meant ridding the world of a tyrant. __Those were too damn hard for me as a kid anyways._

"_I am a burden... Don't argue. I haven't been able to be a real mother for weeks... __M-months even...__"_

"_I don't care! You're still my Mommy," I pleaded softly, sniffling. I refu__sed to cry in front of Mom. Not now. Not when she needed me most._

"_Ahh... Mai-chan... I love you," she murmured, growing hoarser with each syllable. Her eyes were growing dim when, without warning, the windows shattered._

* * *

**_Reality_**

"Mai! Mai...! Wake up... Wake up!"

I snapped awake, only to discover a pink blob talking to me and trying to pinch my cheeks to wake me up. Blinking bemusedly, my vision cleared and the blob resolved into a vaguely familiar pinkette. _Sa something… _I swatted her hands away, feeling irked that I had to be woken from my bad dreams by her instead of-I cut off that thought mercilessly. _Why am I thinking of him? Ugh… _I couldn't even sit up, because my leg had been restrained in a sling hanging from the ceiling. Glaring at Sa-something, I turned my head away from her crossly.

"I'm Sakura, if you don't remember… You were brought in early yesterday. You were out for most of the time…"

I didn't pay attention to the rest of her spiel. It was enough that someone I barely knew had helped me. I was a bit dizzied with that feeling. _Why did that odd man help me out? He could have just left me… Then again, I forget. Konohagakure ninja take care of their own. And I am one of them, apparently. _I rubbed my fingers across my forehead, where my forehead protector was supposed to be. When I realized it wasn't there anymore, I looked around. Spotting it on the night table within my line of sight, I sighed softly in relief. Relaxing a little in the bed, I turned my head back to Sakura, who had stopped talking.

"I'm fine now. I just don't like being in hospitals."

"I know the feeling," Sakura said, a small grin of sympathy entering her eyes, "I used to be scared of going to hospitals. Lady Tsunade cured me of that pretty quickly though."

"You trained with Hokage-sama?"

Sakura scratched her head sheepishly, "Yeah." She shivered slightly, "It was brutal..."  
Not wanting to upset my guest further, I sighed and cast about for a topic change.

"Who brought me here?"

"Guy-san brought you here. Don't you remember?"

"Oh, right. He's the guy in the green spandex that's so cheerful and energetic, correct?"

Sakura nodded. We chatted for a bit about inconsequential things, the weather and such. I was feeling annoyed that she was even there, but I knew I couldn't let my tongue go out of control. I was probably still on probation with the Konohagakure ninja, regardless of what Guy had done for me. When Sakura had left, I relaxed into the bed. Don't get me wrong, I still hated hospitals. But I had a nasty feeling that I was going to be stuck here for a while. I nearly face palmed when I realized that I had forgotten to ask Sakura how long I would be in here exactly... Argh. I glared up at the ceiling in utter irritation.

_Tick-tock... Tick-tock_... That clock on the far wall was getting annoying, I decided. My brain had decided to single out that sound, of all of them, to hear above the tap of the nurses' and doctors' feet, the beep of the heart monitor and the moaning of another paitient in a nearby room. The voice was male, and I decided to focus in on it. Something to do, anyways.

"But Sakura-chan, Granny Tsunade needs me! Besides, how can I get ramen if I'm laid up in this bed?!"

"YOU ARE GOING TO STAY DOWN AND THAT'S FINAL, okay Naruto?"

I could practically feel the boy in the other room cringe as he spoke again, reluctantly agreeing to the pinkette's assessment. I snickered softly, realizing that the tiny pink flower had a major bite. And Naruto, whoever he was, was just a puppet she pulled the strings on until he exited this hospital.

I listened in amusement as the boy offered more excuses to escape, and Sakura shot down each and every one of them. I eventually heard Lady Tsunade come into the room to break up the bickering. A smile twitched over my face as I heard the aged blonde scolding the two youngsters roundly after delivering what sounded like a slap to one of them. Grinning, I looked up at the ceiling, no longer bored. _It seems that I just can't stay bored for long in this village... _

Relaxing into the bed, I closed my eyes. Hospital or no, I realized that I was safe. It was a weird feeling, knowing I didn't have to worry about dying alone in a ditch in this city. Konohagakure took care of it's own, even in the midst of reconstruction. The hospital was nearing completion, which was probably why I had a room.

I startled slightly when I abruptly heard familiar steps. Not in the hallway, no. It was coming from the opposite wall... That worried me, just a bit... I opened my eyes to try and peer out the window. _Damn. Not the right angle. __Is now when I press the button for a nurse? _

The window slid upwards with a soft creaking sound, and I snapped my head around to see who was coming in. Heart pounding, I grabbed for my shuriken and cussed softly when I realized they had taken my leg pouch off to get me into this damn contraption properly. I looked frantically for the remote that buzzed the nurse station. I wanted to scream when I realized it was on the hospital table, just out of my reach.

Whipping my head back to the window, I waited for the person to come in with baited breath.

What really pissed me off was when an all too familiar figure slid into the room smoothly from the window.

"SAI?!"

* * *

**Hey all! I finally updated :D I got five reviews for the first chappie, wowie! I never thought Mai's story would be so well recieved. That's even better than Adventures in the Afterlife. Thank you all so much! :') I'm glad you guys like waht I write. **

**YellowMittens- I'm glad I kept Sai in character. :) Hope you like this, even if it's a nasty cliffie. **

**hippielicious- :D So glad you read it in the first place. I'm glad I've got Sai down. **

**Guest- I intend to let Sai be curious about Mai, but not falling in love right away. I'm sorry if you thought he was out of character- I'm still feeling him out as a character.**

**Kaida Mizu- Thanks! **

**Jeva Nightmare- Thank you so much :)**

**Anyways, see ya next update! **

**-June**


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